The effect of telephone triage on symptom management in patients with cancer undergoing systemic chemotherapy: a randomized controlled trial

Abstract

Purpose: Patients with cancer experience chemotherapy-related symptoms in the home after treatment in the hospital. This study was conducted to investigate the effect of the telephone triage on symptom management, quality of life, and self-care management in patients with cancer undergoing treatment of systemic chemotherapy. Methods: The study was conducted as a single-blind randomized controlled trial. The sample consisted of 65 patients who were randomly assigned to intervention and control groups. A telephone symptom triage protocol (TeleTRIAGE) was applied to the patients in the intervention group during the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th cycles of chemotherapy treatment. The control group received standard nursing care. Pretest and posttest data were collected using a Personal Information Form, the Chemotherapy Symptom Assessment Scale, the FACT-G Quality of Life Scale and the Self-Care Agency Scale. Results: Compared to the control group, the patients in the intervention group showed a decrease in appetite change, symptom severity, and the degree of discomfort in feeling pessimistic and sad (p < 0.05), and their mean quality of life and self-care management scores increased (p < 0.05). Conclusions: It was found that the TeleTRIAGE protocol applied to patients with cancer undergoing treatment of systemic chemotherapy improved symptom management, quality of life and self-care management. Trial registration: www.clinicaltrials.gov, NCT04162717.